Fingertips on the Frets
by ObsidianWarrior
Summary: Sweet little Yui soon discovers the sour after-tastes of the new life-style she has fallen into. Based on the doujin "Requiem 5 a Dream".


**_Based slightly on the death of punk singer GG Allin and taking place in the canon of Requiem 5 a Dream (contains spoilers if you haven't read it), this fic details my own take on what you didn't see in the doujin (with only Requiem as canon, not the other two doujins). You'll get what I mean in the last author's note. _**

* * *

_10:36 PM, Dallas, Texas_

"L-Left please," the ragged voice in the backseat of a taxi stuttered.

"Sure thing," her driver casually said, directing the automobile down another street. He looked into his car's backseat with concern before setting off down the road.

Yui Hirasawa, a girl of twenty-five years shuddered, heaving and gagging as bile attempted to breach her throat. Dressed in skinny black jeans, a shirt with a rather oddly-shaped wrench on it, flip-flops, a beret, designer sunglasses, a pale-green jacket she had picked up from a thrift store in San Francisco about two years ago that reminded her of something Kurt Cobain would wear, and hugging a vinyl guitar case housing a Gibson Les Paul_,_ the girl continued to stutter out instructions to her driver.

Her head was swimming through a combination of grogginess and pain. At first glance, one would assume she simply had the flu: sweat decorated her skin like diamonds in a tiara, her motions were jerky at times, she could hardly breathe, her heart raced, and she occasionally felt nauseous. However, this was not the case.

Yui Hirasawa was a drug-addict, and she was suffering from withdrawals.

Her road crew had staged an intervention about a week ago in Chicago, and Yui reluctantly agreed to go cold turkey and pretend she was sick with a passing bug. She was more popular than she could have possibly imagined in her native Japan and was just recently gaining a growing fanbase in the United States. Going from sold-out stadiums to converted warehouses and high-school auditoriums (or if the town wasn't that big or if she was fairly unlucky, clubs the size of a gas station) would take some getting used to, but as long as she got paid, it definitely didn't matter.

The taxi soon screeched to a halt in front of a hotel, where the name of the sleazy establishment was hosted twenty feet high on a neon sign. Yui slowly began to exit the vehicle, feeling a crisp gust of wind kiss her cheeks. She glanced up at the grey sky. Was it about to rain? Or was it just the city lights on the clouds?

"That'll be $24.60," the taxi-driver bluntly asked, snapping Yui out of her trance. Yui pulled out a twenty and a five dollar bill from her wallet, handed it to the cab driver, recieved her change, and closed the door, allowing the automobile to drive off. Shuddering as a wave of nausea hit her, Yui dry-heaved twice before pulling out a small scrap of notebook paper with directions scrawled in sloppy cursive on it. A friend of hers was hosting a small event at an apartment complex about a mile from where she currently was, and Yui had promised to be there two months in advance.

At this point in the road, Yui had roughly four hundred dollars in her pocket, which was enough to rent a room at the hotel for about a week where she could detox in peace on a steady diet of Dr. Pepper and whatever the hell they sold at the convenience store across the street. In fact, Yui had actually pondered doing exactly this and skipping out on the party (which explained the being dropped off at a hotel). But after the horrible P.R. incidents with the bands and people she pissed off, her motto of "always follow everything through" was basically all she had left. She felt as if she owed her friend after all she had been through. Sighing at her luck, Yui pocketed her wallet and continued on her journey, managing to pull it together and not collapse on the streets.

Along her way, several homeless men tried to bum money from her, and the occasional car whizzed by, with one of them using the bass speakers from hell as a weapon against the people who were trying to sleep. Every now and then, Yui either sat down or vomited a bit on the curb, cursing the names of the gods along the way. An otherwise eventless ten-minute walk later, and Yui stood in front of a rather charming apartment building.

Taking a deep breath, the guitarist hobbled toward the apartment building, feeling a bit worse than she did when she got in the cab. Her feet were sore, her body was wracked with pain, and her throat burned, but she was here. Normally, Yui enjoyed taking whatever she could get her hands on, but whenever she was in withdrawal, she either abhorred the drugs she took (always swallowed, smoked, or snorted - injections lead to track marks and even worse negative publicity that she already had), or she pleaded for someone to give her something to take the pain away. This case was one mixing parts of the former and the latter into one big cluster of sickness. If she was lucky, her friend's boyfriend would be in, and she could get something to calm her nerves.

With the thought of pot brownies on her mind, Yui ignored the pain and took a moment to survey the area in front of her before taking a deep breath and pushing the glass door open with one hand. She strode into the nearly vacant lobby as steadily as possible, giving the female receptionist a friendly wave while she was at it. The older woman looked up from her magazine briefly before returning her nose back to its pages. Shrugging, Yui walked towards one of the two elevators and began to reach towards the button on the panel between them. She retracted her hand back a second later.

_I'll get woozy if I have to stand as it moves four floors up! I don't wanna puke again because of something dumb like motion-sickness or something... _Yui thought, figuring that her dizziness might work against her in the elevator. She took a step back and eyed the stairway that curled up just around the corner.

"I-I guess I can just walk that... that way and work this off," Yui muttered to herself. The guitarist staggered towards the first cement step, gingerly gripping the rail in the wall. Her flip-flops clicked loudly in the silence each time she raised her feet from the stairwell. Not realizing it, the girl had managed to recall a tune she had written on the airplane ride to pass the time and pain from withdrawal symptoms, not even remembering the actual title of it. Just humming the overall melody was good enough.

For two minutes, Yui had managed to walk up the stairs, occasionally passing another occupant of the building (a giggling couple, a boy in a hoodie, and a girl coming from a night-class, if she recalled correctly). She paid no mind to them, and neither did they in return. Passing a window, Yui took a moment to catch her breath and rest her feet, staring through the glass to look at the city-life. Black, orange, red, and yellow shimmered about for as far as she could see.

_Wow. Pretty..._ the brunette said in her mind, briefly remembering the Les Paul strapped to her back. She remained there for a minute and checked a bronze plaque on the wall. Seeing that she was just on the third floor, Yui groaned, yet continued on with her trip. Getting tired of looking at the sickly moss-green wallpaper, Yui attempted to speed up, jumping the steps two at a time. Aside from tripping four times, almost dropping Giitah three stories, and nearly losing a flip-flop, she had managed to reach the twentieth one and found herself in a long hall that led to her destination.

Spotting a water fountain set into the wall, Yui hobbled over to it and clutched the handle, almost as if to support herself. A stream of water drizzled out of the faucet, however before the guitarist could drink it, the color changed from a welcoming pale white to a black color that smelled quite bitter and metallic, not unlike blood. Grimacing in disappointment that the refreshment of fluid had evaded her as of now, Yui spied the door to her friend's home a short distance away. Smiling lazily, she treaded across the carpet, the sound of loud music greeting her ears.

_Maybe her boyfriend is entertaining? _the musician mused halfheartedly, trying to get her thoughts in order. Passing the other doors, Yui settled herself in front of her friend's apartment. She took a moment to clumsily run her fingers through her hair, clear her throat, and compose herself before she knocked on the door three times.

* * *

_11:45 PM_  
_Running Brook Apartments_

When Yui was granted access to apartment 410, the first thing she noticed was that it was dimly lit, with a red lava-lamp on a small end-table providing a second source of light. The yellow glow of the kitchen light shone under the closed door to Yui's right, sounds of chatting coming from behind it. The living room seemed to have more action in it, having at least nine people going about in it. They were either talking, eating from packs of salty and sweet snack foods on the coffee table, or drinking from red plastic cups. A beat-up CD player sat on a wooden chair near an unlit fireplace, where Avenged Sevenfold's "Beast and the Harlot" pumped out of its speakers, which have no doubt seen better days.

Yui counted a somewhat even mix of men and women in front of her. They all seemed to be about her age. Only one girl, who seemed to be hitting it off with an older guy in a shirt with torn sleeves, seemed to be a few years younger than her. Swallowing her sense of awkwardness, Yui waved weakly at the group of people as she shut the door behind her.

"Ummmmm, hey, everyone," she announced, wondering if she could be heard over the music. A few of the faces turned towards her, some turning into wide smiles.

"Hey, Yui's here!" one guy cheered from the back. A couple of more greetings came here way. Yui smiled shyly and waved at them in return. She hadn't expected so many people to be happy over her arrival.

"Yui is here?" said a girl with her hair done in pigtails, coming out of the kitchen. "Oh, hello, Yui! Great to see you again!" Yui smiled softly at the girl, who vaguely reminded her of Azusa, what with her hairstyle and stature. She did recall meeting the girl from somewhere before. But in her slight daze, the name escaped her.

_Kim? Kate?_ _Something with a K for sure..._ Yui shook the girl's hand politely. "Great to see you again, too."

"This place has been kinda dying. But now that you're here, it'll lighten up! And you even brought Gitah! Maybe you can play us a few songs?" the girl chirped.

Yui furrowed her brow and looked down at her side. True enough, she was carrying her trusty guitar in its satchel. She hadn't even noticed her cargo since she nearly got killed hopping up the stairs.

"Huh? Oh! S-Sure! I'll play a little something for you all later," Yui said quickly, forgetting she needed an amplifier. A tiny cheer passed through the apartment. "But right now, I kinda had to get something. From a friend."

The mysterious girl tilted her head to the side, realization appearing in her eyes. "A friend... You mean Phillip? He's in the back. I can go get him if you want."

"That be really great. Thanks..." Yui replied, stifling a yawn. Watching the party-goer make her way through the crowd, Yui made her way to the couch that was nestled in the corner of the room. Collapsing on the worn pile of stuffing and beige covering, Yui let herself sink into the left arm of it, placing Giitah on her lap. The surface of the couch felt cool on her chin. She nearly dozed off until someone poked her shoulder gently.

"Yui?" a male voice whispered in a familiar drawl. Looking up, Yui spied the girl from before, but standing to the side of a young man in a pair of faded jeans and a thick, dirty, grey sweater.

"Hi, Phillip," Yui responded, rubbing her right eye tiredly. "I tried to get here faster, but I just got a little tired."

"No problem. We were just having a couple of people over. Then they invited some of their friends and... well, you know how it goes." Phillip laughed a bit. Yui chuckled in return.

"Mmmm, yeah... So, ummmm, do you have anything? I don't care what it is, I've been cold for a week..." Noticing her hesitance, Phillip ushered the girl (who Yui decided to identify as "K" from now on) away from his side, asking her to grab Yui a soda.

"There, there, Yui," the man began. "I think I have just the thing for you." he finished. Digging around in his pockets, Phillip pulled out a plastic sandwich baggie and opened it, taking a handful of pills out. Yui perked up at the sight of the pills. They were pink, and blue, and other colors from a synthetic rainbow. They spoke to her eyes of fantasy and joy, the kind you would never receive in 100 lifetimes. Weakly lifting her hand, she took one without asking, and put it in her mouth, swallowing it and groaning in pain as it slid down her still burning throat.

"You okay?"

"...Mrmh... feel like shit..." Yui mumbled. "Tastes like candy though. Heh heh..." Phillip sighed, and took a can of Coca-Cola from his girlfriend, briefly getting up to get a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey and a glass, where he poured an estimated amount of the former into the glass, before cracking open the can of the latter and putting in enough Coke to darken the drink's color. The man handed Yui the drink, which she managed to down in a few seconds.

"Feeling any better?" Phillip asked the musician.

"...Sorta," Yui mumbled, reaching for the bag in the dealer's pocket and managing to grab it after a bit. The girl opened the bag and took ten of the mystery pills with only a thank you and a half-hearted smile to the dealer. It didn't matter what they were, they were the closest that real happiness would reach her.

"Those ain't free, ya know," Phillip flatly remarked. Smiling lightly, Yui pulled out her wallet and handed him a $20. Phillip sighed at the mediocre pay, pocketing the money anyway and leaving, a scowl on his face.

* * *

**_One hour later_**

Yui clutched at Giitah obsessively as if it were a life-preserver in the middle of the ocean. Her arms had been twitching for the past five minutes, and her heart rate had been spiking and slowing down constantly.

"Hey, Yui, can you play something now?" K asked Yui, nudging her. Startled for a second, Yui blinked repeatedly until she recognized the face from earlier.

"I don't know, I can't really see straight," Yui responded. Or rather, garbled. Several unknown pills and a crapload of alcohol would do that.

The girl peered at Yui with a puzzled and concerned look. "... Eh? Are you okay, Yui? You sound drunk..."

_Drunk? How could I be drunk? All I had was that one drink Phillip made me... and I may have had a few beers, but I'm not drunk!_ Yui thought. She opened her mouth to speak again, but she regretted that immediately, deciding to lean back to prevent vomiting on K's floor.

"Ugh! You smell like a brewery..." K said, wafting the air away from her nose for effect.

"I'm really sorry, K-chan!" Yui shouted in perfect English.

"Seriously, stop talking. Take it easy and rest a bit. You sound like a retarded turkey," K said bluntly, leaving Yui alone on the couch. She glared after the retreating girl and sat back, mumbling incoherently. She then leaned against the couch cushion like a pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

_God, why can't I focus tonight? I-I'm probably tired. Yeah, that's it! I'll just shut my eyes, and I'll wake up tomorrow... fresh as a daisy..._ Yui thought, closing her eyes and snuggling Giitah in her arms.

* * *

_Yui's eyes opened a second later. She was still in the room as the party was going on. Next to her was a fan of her work, hugging the passed-out guitarist as her friend took a picture. As soon as she got up, Yui looked around the room. Not too many people stuck out much. They were there, but... they weren't there. Just random splotches in the scene, like background characters in an anime or a blurry photograph._

_"Yui? Is that you?" a voice called out to her. Yui perked up instantly upon hearing her voice. She strained her eyes to locate the source when she saw it appear right in front of her. Just like a form coming out of a deep fog. _

_"Azu-nyan!" Yui exclaimed, surprised to see that her old best friend had come out of nowhere. "You came back!"_

_Contrary to her expectations, Azusa's expression was anything like her old shy self- she stared dourly at Yui. "No, Yui. I didn't' come back to see you. You screwed up. Big time," Azusa retorted disdainfully._

_"Wha-What do you- What's THAT supposed to mean?" Yui shrank away in hurt. _

_"Well, let's see... Your fans call you the Japanese Jimi Hendrix for your guitar skills, but the haters have another name for you: The Japanese Axl Rose," Azusa explained in an almost bored tone._

_"Oh, the Guns 'N' Roses guy?" Yui asked._

_"Yeah. This isn't something to be happy about though. You've been described as a Grade-A asshole behind your back, trashing backstage venues, punching out security-guards-"_

_"He tried to rape me!" Yui shouted, trying to convince Azusa. Naturally, she didn't fall for it._

_"No. You just flat-out hit him on the head with your guitar and knocked his teeth in when he tried to retaliate. You stormed offstage and started a riot." The twin-tailed girl stared down at her shoes. "I used to think you were the sweetest out of all of us..."_

_"No, I didn't Azu-nyan! You've gotta believe me! I'm still your friend, too!" Yui screamed with tears in her eyes._

_"Fat chance. I've been by your side since day one. You know, right? When you started blowing club managers so you could play at venues at no cost and reap all the money we made those nights? Some sweet-hearted kid you turned out to be," Azusa deadpanned. Yui felt a chill run through her body, starting in her fingers and running through her body before stopping at her heart._

_"So you DO remember," Azusa began, seeing the realization in her friend's eyes. "So I'm assuming you also remember your interview with MTV for banning your video, right? Oh, come on! Twenty years ago, you gave Kurt Cobain awards, and when I sing about loss, suddenly I'm pro-suicide? If anything-"_

_"His message was "When you've had enough, kill yourself"," Yui finished for her. _

_"Yes. Then there's the time we went on tour with Dream Theater and Mastodon. Remember that one? It was a totally new audience we were reaching out to at the Budokan - the freaking **BUDOKAN! **You got drunk and told Brann Dailor you were glad his sister died. I mean come on, Yui! You were so good in school, but when we get famous, suddenly you get a bigger ego than Dave Mustaine!"_

_"...Who's Dave Mus-" _

_"Never mind," Azusa interrupted Yui. "Then there's the incident where you tried to punch out Alexi Laiho at the airport..." What Azusa said next didn't register in Yui's mind. She gripped at her chest, feeling her heart starting to get that "pins and needles" feel you get if a limb falls asleep._

_"Should I go on? You got banned from that city for-" Azusa cut herself off, noticing Yui grasping at her chest._

_"Azu-nyan, help! It hurts!" Yui screamed, feeling that pins and needles feeling spreading across her body._

_"Ah. I believe that would be the fifteen pills you swallowed and the alcohol. Probably not a good idea, considering the times I counted where you got your stomach pumped."_

_"What?" Yui exclaimed."_

_"Yeah, you're a goner in about five minutes or so. You should have learned, Yui-sempai. You should have learned..." Azusa finished, with what looked like a smirk on her face._

_"W-Why? What did I do to deserve this?" Yui shrieked in desperation._

_"**EVERYTHING YOU DID SINCE GRADUATION!**" Azusa snapped fiercely, but looking somewhat saddened. "Did you even hear a word I said? ...You didn't, did you? You never really did. You just ran your mouth like you cared, and then kept cranking your dials past eleven! That's all you ever did! 'Oh, Azu-nyan is so cute~...' 'I'm hungry, Ui!' 'I thought of a better chorus arrangement for your song!' 'Oh, I don't need you, because I'm the god damned Queen of J-Pop!' ...Well, you know what? Fuck you, Yui. Fuck. You. You're going to die and it's all your fault. No one to blame but yourself. I really can't think of anything you ever did right."_

_Yui was gasping now, unsure of whether the moisture dripping on her cheeks was sweat or her own tears. Everything felt so hot that it looked like the walls were melting, yet, none of the party guests seemed to notice. _

_Azusa leaned on over, her sneer turning into a hideous half-smirk that was completely unlike her. "How's it feel to have finally become a successful musician?. By wiping your face off the earth, you're gonna get what you always desired... Immortality as an idol." Yui's vision began to warp right around this time. Her old school-mate, band-mate, and friend slowly began to distort from an angry cat-like girl to something resembling a Barbie doll being melted by fire._

_"Long story short- you finally got what you deserve. ...Goodbye, Yui. I'll see you in hell..." Yui's subconscious vision of her former buddy finally faded into a puddle. Yui gradually saw the rest of the room starting to warp and distort, like a magazine that's had water spilled on it combined with the heat rising off asphalt on a hot summer day. _

_"Oh, God... she's right. Please! Someone! Anyone? I swear I'll change! just help me!" Yui screamed. The room stopped its blurring. Yui perked up, thinking she was safe._

_The poor, damn fool._

_At that moment, black splotches formed in the room, and like miniature black holes, they started to suck in matter, where light would never escape. Yui could only watch in horror as the room slowly faded into oblivion._

_She clawed at her body as the shadows slithered up her legs, curled around her waist, snaked up her torso and arms, and began to stretch across her face. She opened her mouth and choked out another plea._

_"Azu-nyan! Come back, Azu-nyan! I'm sorry! Don't leave me! I don't want to be alone! I wanna go back to the clubroom with you and everyone else! We'll eat cake with Mugi and Mio again, and Ritsu will do something stupid to make us laugh, just like always! I'm sorry! PLEASE!" _

_"...Don't call me Azu-nyan anymore. Only my friends can call me that." Azusa coldly retorted, paying no attention to her feeble cries for help. She wasn't the Angel of Death here, she was a freaking hallucination._

* * *

_9:03 AM_

The remains of the party from the night before had either moved elsewhere once the beer ran dry, or were still passed out in the apartment. The girl Yui had identified as K and her boyfriend Phillip had been spending the morning sobering up each guest one by one until they could leave. Upon spotting Yui still sprawled out on the couch, K smiled coyly.

_Just like her to sleep in..._ she thought. Walking over to the guitarist, she shook her by the arm.

"Yui, it's time to wake up..." she began with an almost motherly tone. Seconds passed and no response.

"Yui... It's morning. Time to rise and shine," she began, firmer in tone.

Nothing.

"Yui! Get up-" K stopped mid-sentence upon looking at Yui closer. Three things had become blatantly obvious upon inspection:

One, her guitar's body and fretboard had deep gouges and scratches from her fingernails where she gripped a little too hard on the instrument the night before.

Two, Yui's body was cold. Not "caught in the snow" cold, but "forgotten a blanket" cold. Her skin was pale white, and should one see her arms or neck, one could easily see her veins.

K quickly placed her fingers across Yui's wrist for a pulse, only to find none. Assuming she did something wrong, she placed a finger under her nose to feel for her breath, keeping her finger there for a minute or so, only to discover that Yui definitely wasn't breathing.

Yui remained on the couch, cold and lifeless as a stone.

K fell on her ass and scrambled away from her friend's body and screaming her head off, which woke up the only person left.

"What the hell?" Phillip shouted at his girlfriend, raising a hand as if to strike her.

"She's dead! She's fucking dead!" K screamed. Phillip froze in place. He was near the couch in an instant, leaning over and inspecting the music-lover from last night.

"..._Dead_?" he asked, turning around grimly. K nodded in fear.

"Oh... Oh, god... Fuck..." Phillip stuttered, looking towards the couch once more and wincing. "We are so screwed..." Phillip sighed.

"...What do we do?" K asked.

"Give me five minutes. I'm going to flush the drugs and anything that can incriminate us, and when the five minutes are up, I want you to call the police." Phillip replied, going off to his room to pick up every joint, pill, and powdered substance that could earn him jail time. K kept her eye on the clock, counting every second that passed.

_Jesus Christ Yui... I told you to be careful with yourself..._ K spoke to herself mentally, attempting to deny her involvment in Yui's death. Who was she kidding? She directed Yui to the man who sold her the crap that killed her. She introduced her to her boyfriend the dealer in the first place. She was just as responsible as Phillip.

After her boyfriend had flushed every drug down the toilet and gave her the signal to call the police, K slowly picked up her cell phone, pressing the three keys to get her to the police.

"_Operator, what's your emergency?_" The voice of the dispatcher calmly asked.

"My friend is dead..."

* * *

**_Yes, I do know I laid on the metal allusions and the ending rather harshly, it's something I'm still trying to iron out. Anyway, l I got the idea for this fic from what little was said about Yui's death in the doujin, it was just mentioned right the fuck outta nowhere before Mio's part of the story came up. And yes, Phillip and the Black Toothed Grin he served Yui were references to Pantera, and Yui's shirt at the beginning was a reference to a rather phallic-looking Tool shirt. If you got those references before the author's note, good for you, you win absolutely nothing for spotting them. If you liked this, read and review, tell me how I did._**


End file.
